Sandusky Bay Initiative About the Office of Coastal Management

• Coastal Zone Management Act • Grants • Regulatory Programs • Outreach and Education • Technical Assistance • Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program • Old Woman Creek – NERR – Stewardship, Research, Education About the Coast • 312 miles of shoreline in Ohio. • 23% of Ohio’s population (2.6 million) live in eight coastal counties. • Receives the drainage of the Watershed of approximately 7.4 million acres.

Current Conditions and Areas of Focus for the Office of Coastal Management • Water Levels • Shoreline Erosion • Habitat/Coastal Wetlands • Nutrients • Public Access to the Coast • Beneficial Reuse of Dredge Material Priority Area

Sandusky Bay Why Sandusky Bay?

• Historical and existing coastal wetlands. • Unique Bay system in Lake Erie. • Priority watershed for nutrients – Annex 4 • High fish abundance and diversity. Priority fishery. • High public recreational use. • Bloom conditions start the earliest and last the longest in Lake Erie – Planktothrix. Sandusky Bay Initiative 64 square miles – 1 million acres agricultural land Water flows from west to east through the Bay Water depth ranges from < 6 to 9 feet Federal navigation channel

Eastern Sandusky Bay Western Sandusky Muddy Creek Bay Bay Back Bay Sandusky Bay Initiative- Primary Goals • Improve Sandusky Bay water quality by reducing nutrient and sediment loads. • Enhance coastal wetland and fisheries habitat. • Where feasible, promote public access. • Work with local restoration partners Focused Goals: • Coordinate and support innovative wetland and nature-based shoreline restoration and enhancement projects. • Demonstrate the Beneficial Use of dredge material • Implement a landscape-scale approach to systematically link projects to maximize nutrient and sediment reduction in the Bay • A PORTFOLIO OF PROJECTS Systems Thinking at Scale Sandusky Bay Initiative - 2017 – Kick-off Phase I • Eight projects- $2 Million investment (State, Federal, Local) • Initial Engineering & Design for sediment and dredge beneficial reuse habitat sites in Sandusky Bay. • Launch of monitoring coordination with partners and Ohio EPA. • Initialize development of a 3D Eutrophication Model. • Initiate the development of Strategic Plan to create a portfolio of projects based upon 2017 findings and other work. • Initiated two coastal wetland implementation projects. Sandusky Bay Initiative Partners

• Ohio DNR, Coastal Management • Bowling Green State University • Ohio DNR, Division of Wildlife • Heidelberg University Ohio EPA • • Kent State University • Ohio Lake Erie Commission • Marsh Management • City of Sandusky Associations/Conservancies • Local SWCDs • USACE • Limnotech, Tetra Tech, Biohabitats, Baird, Foth, KS Associates, GEI • NOAA • USEPA • Sandusky County • Old Woman Creek NERR • Cedar Point • TNC • Ohio Sea Grant • Bi-weekly sampling Sandusky Bay Monitoring throughout the Bay. • GLOS connected buoys • Sediment samples – 8 locations • ADCP flow velocity meter

• Bloom biomass is low light adapted. • Water clarity is a key driver. • Flow , turbidity and wind events are interlinked and not always driven by river discharge. • Planktothrix and irradiance responses. Sandusky Bay Model

240 MT 40 MT

415 MT 425 MT

Modeled TP based on data and Met data for 2 years. Adding year 3 P may be trapped within the Bay and not loading Lake. P is not for Planktothrix Internal Loading may be significant Site Design - Cedar Point Causeway Wetland Restoration- Beneficial Use of Dredge Material • Design and Engineering completed in 2018. • Phased approach to align with dredging cycles. • Enhance fishery habitat for Sandusky Bay • Reduce Sedimentation in Sandusky Bay. • Maintain boat recreation access. • Public/Private Partnership and City of Sandusky and local stakeholders. • Permitting and final Prioritized soft outer edge where possible engineering. Maximized Emergent Backwater Habitat • Implementation 2020 (SB-1) Recreational Navigation Considerations Tolerate some re-suspension/loss of dredged material Coastal Wetlands – Re-Connection • Restoration Initiative – Action Plan II – Coastal Wetlands & Habitat Focus Area • Public-Private Partnerships with local conservation organizations and soil and water district. • Two Sites: Standing Rush and Pipe Creek • Hydrological Connections through Nature Based Design and Hybrid adaptations. • Reconnection of 245 acres of coastal wetlands and nearshore habitat and 1900 LF along Pipe Creek Strategic Restoration Plan Develop a Portfolio of Project Investments that meet cumulative benefits and are systemic whereby a series of projects will work together to achieve targets/goals.

• Identified approximately 40 projects. • Developed a site screening matrix for initial evaluation. • Identifying the focus areas of projects in conjunction with model and monitoring work to prioritize short- term and long-term investments. • Focus on in-water coastal wetland designs that can improve habitat for spawning/nursery, manage internal loading and nutrient inputs. Next Steps • Portfolio of Projects and Priority Implementation • Model Scenarios to inform Nutrient Budget, Design Criteria for Restoration. • Continue to collect data to review episodic events, focus area monitoring and sediment resuspension, internal loading. • Implementation of a variety of restoration project types both experiential and beneficial on a system-wide approach. Sandusky Bay Initiative Contacts

• Chief Scudder Mackey – ODNR- OCM • Jim Park – ODNR –OCM • Lynn Garrity – Ohio Lake Erie Commission